Abstract
Social capital, namely civic engagement, adult support, and community support, shapes behaviors in meaningful ways, yet the literature examining the relationship between social capital and sexual risk behaviors and HIV testing among youth remains limited. This study examined the influence of social capital on sexual risk behaviors (i.e., unprotected sex, multiple sex partners, and being drunk or high prior to sex) and HIV testing among youth. A total of 200 primarily ethnic minority youth (mean age of 17.4 years) in Denver, Colorado were included in the study. Structural equation modeling findings indicate that higher levels of social capital were associated with unprotected sex and less HIV testing. Additionally, the association between social capital and sex with multiple partners was mediated by sex refusal self-efficacy. Youth may benefit from social capital, but it may not have the same protective or health-promotive value for youth as for adults.
Highlights
Youth in the United States continue to be highly vulnerable to sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
The present study examined the association of social capital with sexual risk behaviors and HIV testing in a diverse sample of youth residing in the Denver Metropolitan Area in Colorado
We examined the indirect association of social capital with sexual risk behaviors and HIV testing through sex communication and sex refusal self-efficacy
Summary
Youth in the United States continue to be highly vulnerable to sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Evidence suggests that higher levels of social capital have been found to be associated with positive physical and mental health outcomes among adolescents and adults [14,15], research focused on the role that social capital plays in influencing sexual risk behaviors and HIV testing among youth is limited [16,17]. Relatively little research has examined how self-efficacy mediates the effects of social capital on sexual risk behaviors and HIV testing among youth. We examined the indirect association of social capital with sexual risk behaviors and HIV testing through sex communication and sex refusal self-efficacy. We tested the mediating effects of sex communication and sex refusal self-efficacy, as the scientific knowledge with regard to how self-efficacy mediates the association of social capital on sexual risk behaviors and HIV testing among youth is limited. We assessed whether the participant had received an HIV test in their lifetime using one item that asked, “Have you ever been tested for HIV?”
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